Pain and pleasure of sad music

Sad music can provide enjoyment, comfort or pain to different people, according to new research looking at the effects of melancholy songs on the emotions.
Researchers at Durham University and the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said their findings could have implications for how music therapy and rehabilitation could help people’s moods.
The musicologists looked at the emotional experiences associated with sad music of 2,436 people across three large-scale surveys in the UK and Finland.
They identified the reasons for listening to sad music, and emotions involved in memorable experiences related to listening to sad music.
The researchers said that the majority of people surveyed highlighted the enjoyable nature of such experiences, which in general lead to clear improvement of mood.
They also said that listening to sad music led to feelings of pleasure related to enjoyment of the music in some people, or feelings of comfort where sad music evoked memories in others.
However, a significant portion of people also reported painful experiences associated with listening to sad music, which invariably related to personal loss such as the death of a loved one, divorce, breakup, or other significant adversity in life.
The research was funded by the Academy of Finland.